This document provides information on how to use the past perfect simple and past perfect continuous tenses in English. It defines their forms, gives examples of regular and irregular past tense verbs, and explains how to use time expressions with each tense. The past perfect simple is used to refer to an action completed before a specific time in the past, while the past perfect continuous emphasizes the duration of an action occurring before another past event or time. Sample sentences are provided to illustrate proper usage of these tenses.

1. How do we use these tenses?
Past Perfect Simple and Continuous

2. Past Perfect Simple
●
Form (had + past participle)
Affirmative: I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they had
written
Interrogative: Had
I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they written?
Negative: I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they hadn't
written

3. Spelling tips
●
Regular verbs ending in -e form the past form with -d.
e.g. decide=> decided
●
We double the final letter when a one-syllable verb ends in
consonant+vowel+consonant.
e.g. stop=>stopped, rob=> robbed
●
We also double the final letter when a verb has more than
one syllable and when the last syllable is stressed.
e.g. prefer=> preferred
BUT NOT in : listen, happen (listened, happened)

4. Make sentences with the
expressions above !
Time Expressions
●
By the time/when/before+ Past Simple
●
By (+specific time), e.g. by then, by 6 o' clock
●
After, as soon as
●
Until
●
Still + negative
●
It was the first/second... time
●
It was + superlative (+ever)

5. USE
●
We use Past Perfect Simple for an action that
happened before another action or a specific
time in the past. Then the first action is put in
Past Perfect Simple and the second action in
Past Simple.
e.g. The concert had already started by the
time we arrived.

6. As a result, someone broke into our
house !

7. I didn't catch the bus! What
happened?

8. Past Perfect Continuous
●
Form (had + been + verb-ing)
Affirmative : I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they
had been writing
Interrogative : Had
I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they been writing?
Negative : I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they had
not been writing

9. Spelling tips
●
Revise the rules you learned in Continuous
tenses by practising with verbs such as : study,
stop, run, lie
●
ALSO: The rule about stative verbs and
continuous tenses is also valid here.

10. USE
●
We use Past Perfect Continuous to emphasize
the duration of an action that was happening
before another action or a specific time in the
past.
e.g. I found my keys last night. I had been
looking for them for three days.

11. Time Expressions
●
For, since, all night/day/week/year...
●
By the time/when/before + Past Simple
●
After/by (+specific time)/How long...?
Make sentences with the expressions above !

12. What had he been doing before he
discovered gravity?

13. Role Play between you and your teacher. You
were late for school ! What had you been
doing?

14. Any questions?